Gevo Names Chief Sustainability Officer: 3 Things to Know

Decarbonized fuels and chemicals company Gevo has hired Alder Fuels veteran Nancy Young (pictured, top of page) as chief sustainability officer (CSO) to lead the firm's sustainability, environmental and scientific initiatives.

Here are three things to know about the announcement:

1. Gevo Business Focus and Scale: Gevo, founded in 2005, is based in Englewood, Colorado. The company, publicly held since 2011 (NASDAQ: $GEVO), has 90 employees listed on LinkedIn as of May 31, 2023. Gevo's market cap is about $313 million, according to SeekingAlpha.

Gevo's technology transforms renewable energy into energy-dense liquids. Gevo’s products perform "as well or better than traditional fossil-based fuels in infrastructure and engines, but with substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions," the company asserts.

During an early May 2023 earnings call, Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber said the company expects to secure third-party debt investment for net-zero projects. The company also expects to secure third party equity. "We expect to make money through development fees, licenses, and what commonly is called a carry in the project. A carry means that we expect to receive an equity interest in the project without necessarily making a cash investment per se," he said at the time.

2. Nancy Young's Experience and Focus: Young's experience includes developing environmental and sustainability policy, and regulatory programs, as well as in commercial deployment of low carbon fuels and technologies, Gevo notes. Moreover, she is a strategist in such fields as environmental and sustainability law and policy, with a deep expertise in areas such as climate change, aviation sustainability, and sustainable fuels, the company adds.

Young has served as a transportation sustainability advisor on the United Nations High-level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport, with additional roles involving Airlines for America and the Sustainability Team under the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, according to Gevo's announcement.

3. Executive Perspectives: In a prepared statement about Young joining Gevo, Chief Carbon and Innovation Officer Paul Bloom said: “As we build the infrastructure for delivery of low carbon fuels and chemicals, Gevo will continue to focus on assembling the best possible team of industry experts and resources to optimize our efforts. Nancy’s experience in commercialization, combined with her policy expertise will play a key role for Gevo and our ongoing development of Verity Carbon Solutions.”  

Added Young: “I am thrilled to be joining Gevo at such a critical time in the aviation industry. The commercialization of sustainable technology must align with our collective goals and policy governance, and Gevo is at the forefront of this important work. I look forward to contributing to the company's continued development and success."

Gevo's New CSO: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.